What's at stake at Malaysia?

Will the Melbourne scenario be repeated this weekend or will the Malaysian Grand Prix spring a few surprises? After a break of almost three weeks the F1 circus has set up its big tent on the Sepang circuit in Malaysia for the second grand prix of the season. After the first race there are still quite a few unanswered questions.

In Australia, the F2007s adapted to the Bridgestone tyres with almost uncanny ease. It was not a big surprise for the majority of teams as the Italian squad had already amassed considerable data concerning the Japanese rubber. Kimi Raïkkönen pulled off a hat trick: pole, victory and fastest lap making the Scuderia favourite for the coming race. However, the red cars did run into some reliability problems in Australia. The Finn had to back off in the closing stages of the race due to a water leak in his engine, while Felipe Massa started from last place on the grid after his gearbox broke in qualifying.

Showers are on the menu for the weekend according to the weather forecast. If one hits the circuit during practice it will complicate things for the teams, engineers and drivers. The rain, though, is not the only variable to play a decisive role in this race. The temperature and humidity will have a crucial influence on both cars and drivers. Most of the V8s are on their second grand prix, and the possible 50°C track temperature will be a gruelling test of their reliability. In addition, for the aerodynamicists the openings made in the engine covers/bodywork to cool the engines will be a real challenge. If they are too big the cars may lose up to 0.3s over a lap. The final unknown is how weather conditions will affect the drivers towards the end of the race: dehydration and tiredness may play hell with concentration and lead to off-course excursions.

The ING Renault F1 Team continued learning about the R27 and the Bridgestone tyres during the four days’ testing on the Sepang circuit last week. The arrival of new parts led to an improvement in performance as proved by Heikki Kovalainen’s fastest time in the final day. Thus, the team’s ambitions for this weekend have gone up several notches.

Last week’s test on the Sepang circuit allowed all the teams to improve their knowledge of the track, while pursuing their development programmes. As always, it is difficult to come up with a valid interpretation of the performances of the various cars, but it is clear that four seem to have pulled out a slight advantage: Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Renault. Next up are Toyota and Williams while Super Aguri has confirmed that its Melbourne display was no flash in the pan. The Renault-powered Red Bulls have also made an impressive performance gain. Bridgestone took advantage of this test to validate its new identification for the soft compound: a white band on one of the grooves on the four tyres. The Japanese also manufacturer used the session to confirm its choice of rubber for the event.
Overall, it looks like an exciting weekend’s racing is in store.